Star kids shine in Malayalam cinema

Malayalam film industry that has seen the entry of the sons of superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal and a whole lot of others.

Do as daddy and mummy do... it's been the easy way out for many in various disciplines. And also in the Malayalam film industry that has seen the entry of the sons of superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal and a whole lot of others.

Pranav Mohanlal, who worked as a child artiste in 2001 movie Punarjani and won the best child artiste state film award, took a break to finish his studies. He returned to showbiz with 2008 movie Sagar Alias Jacky and has since been waiting in the wings for a good film.

Mammootty's son Dulquar Salman will face the arclights for the first time with the Malayalam film Second Show. "He and his friends have joined hands for it," said Mammootty.

There are others. While Vineeth Sreenivasan, son of writer-producer-director-actor Sreenivasan made it big in no time, the others who have begun their journey include Shanu, son of director Fazil, and Shameer Khan, grandson of the late evergreen hero Prem Nazir.

For Shanu, this is his second innings after his debut movie Kaiyethum Doorathu bombed at the box office in 2002 and he made a quick exit to complete his higher studies in the US. He returned in 2009 with Kerala Cafe and recently featured in Chaappa Kurish.

Shameer, who has taken the screen name of Prem Nazir Jr, debuted this year with Uppukandam Brothers - Back in Action. Commenting on Prem Nazir Jr's debut, politician-actor Rajmohan Unnithan, who featured in Uppukandam Brothers, said the film did well, but it could have done better had the producer done a bit more of marketing.

Last year's release Orkut Oru Ormakoot had seen the debut of several star children -- like Joe Sibi Malayil, son of renowned director Sibi Malayil; Ben Lalu Alex, son of ace character actor Lalu Alex; Anu Mohan, son of actress Sobha Mohan; and Vishnu Raghav, son of still photographer Gopalakrishnan.

Ann Augustine, daughter of producer-actor Augustine, made her debut with the blockbuster Elsamma Enna Aankutty last year. After the roaring success of her first film, Ann has signed up a string of new films.

However, not all the star children are facing the camera. Some are venturing into direction or the technical side of filmmaking.

Revathy and Keerthi, daughters of yesteryear actress Maneka and producer Suresh Kumar, decided to follow their father and concentrate on the technical aspects of filmmaking. "Our elder daughter is doing her Masters in Animation from a college in Florida. Our younger daughter Keerthi, after acting as a child artiste, has also decided to move away from the greasepaint, and is now finishing her course in fashion designing," Kumar told IANS.

Sidharth, son of late director Bharatan and actress KPAC Lalitha, made his debut as an actor in Nammal in 2000 but soon realised he is not meant for acting. So he worked as an assistant to Priyadarshan and is now a full-time director.

It is believed that star children are crowding in after the stupendous success of Prithviraj and Indrajeeth, sons of late character actor Sukumaran and actress Mallika Sukumaran.

In a short time, the two have firmly established themselves in the industry.